A LONG-AWAITED development at a rehabilitiation centre near Okehampton has moved a step closer, with work on the first of three on-site bungalows set to be completed next March.

Christian community Gilead Foundations, who are based at Risdon Farm, Jacobstowe, have resumed work on one of three bungalows, thanks to a secured grant of £6,500 from Renewable Energy for Devon (RE4D) towards funding for the first bungalow.

The bungalows will accommodate eight students, two house parents and two key workers, who will act as live-in 'parents' for the students.

The charity, which currently takes up to 30 students, provides vital support for people who have experienced a variety of life-controlling addictions.

Work started on the three bungalows when the centre received a grant for £200,000 from the Communities and Local Government Places of Change Programme back in the spring.

The charity was set up by Lois Samuel and her husband, when they took over the working farm in 1991.

They have also applied for a grant of £30,000 from the Community Sustainable Energy Programme (CSEP), which will help towards the cost of water and solar panels for all three bungalows.

Since it was set up, it has coped with a rising number of students by providing temporary mobile homes on the site, as well as using the farmhouse and other premises.

Spokesperson for Gilead Foundations, Lois Samuel, said she was looking forward to the completion of the first bungalow.

She said: 'We are really excited about it.

'Everything was on standstill for a good few years and when we got the first lot of money we were really surprised.

'It's fantastic to see the buildings actually start to look like a house.

'We've already put in under floor heating and all the windows and doors are now in.

'Once that's all done we will be ready to fit the kitchen, bathrooms, etc.'

The charity offers a range of support services for people with life controlling addictions from drug and alcohol abuse, to gambling, eating disorders, self-harm and other addictive behaviours.

The students are encouraged to commit to completing the full Christian rehabilitation programme at the farm, which runs in three phases. These include a detox programme, relapse prevention and life structure.